The '''Church of Estonia''' or '''Orthodox Church of Estonia''' ('''Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik''') is an [[autonomy|autonomous]] Orthodox church whose [[primate]] is confirmed by the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Its official name in English is the '''Orthodox Church of Estonia'''.

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The '''Church of Estonia''' or the '''Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate''' ('''Moskva Patriarhaadi Eesti Őigeusu Kirik''') is am exarchate of the Patriarchate of Moscow who's Primate is confirmed by the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow. Its official name in English is the '''Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate'''. This church numbers roughly 250,000 faithful and is the largest Orthodox Church in Estonia.

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The current primate of the church is His Eminence [[Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn|Stephanos]], [[Metropolitan]] of Tallinn and all Estonia (elected 1999).

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The current primate of the church is His Eminence [[Cornelius (Yacobs)]], [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of [[Tallinn]] and All Estonia, elected in 2000.

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This autonomous church should not be confused with the [[Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)|church of the similar name]] which is an [[exarchate]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]].

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Another church uncanonically established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is the socalled "Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church" (Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik) it is an [[Wiktionary:autonomy|autonomous]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] church whose [[primate]] is confirmed by the [[Orthodox Church of Constantinople]]. The head of this church is Metropolitan Stephanos (Charalambides). This church numbers about 20,000 faithful.

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== History ==

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Orthodox missionaries were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to [[Pskov]], in the 10th through 12th centuries. The first mention of an Orthodox [[congregation]] in Estonia was in 1030 in Tartu. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians erected a fortress named Tarbatu. In 1030 the Kievan prince, Jaroslav the Wise, raided Tarbatu and built his own fort in this place as well as the congregation in a [[cathedral]] dedicated to St. [[George the Trophy-bearer]]. Orthodox Christians were later expelled from the city by the Germans in 1472, who [[martyr]]ed their [[priest]], Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on [[January 8]]).

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The creation of the alternate church to the canonical [[Estonian Orthodox Church]] caused the name of the Patriarch of Constantinople to be removed from the dyptichs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many [[Old Believers]] fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch [[Nikon of Moscow]].

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In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Tsarist Russian Empire, having been conquered by Tsar [[Peter the Great]]. A large number of Estonians, particularly rural people, were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Diocese of Riga (in Latvia) was established by the [[Church of Russia]] and many Estonian Orthodox believers included. In the late 19th century, a wave of [[Russification]] was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by local Estonian [[clergy]]. The St. [[Alexander Nevsky]] Cathedral in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa Dormition [[Stavropigial|Stavropegic]] Convent (Kuremäe) in East Estonia were also built around this time.

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==History==

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In 1917 the first Estonian, Platon (Paul Kulbusch), was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] Bishop of Riga and Vicar of Tallinn. Two years later, the Bolsheviks murdered Platon and his [[deacon]] for political reasons. 81 years later, in 2000, Bp. Platon was [[glorification|proclaimed a saint]] by the Churches of Constantinople and Russia, commemorated on [[January 14]].

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Orthodox missionaries were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to [[Pskov]], in the 10th through 12th centuries. The first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia was in 1030 in what is now [[Tartu]]. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians erected a fortress named Tarbatu. In 1030 the Kievan prince, [[Yaroslav I the Wise|Yaroslav the Wise]], raided Tarbatu and built his own fort in this place as well as the congregation in a cathedral dedicated to St. George the Trophy-bearer. Orthodox Christians were expelled from Tarbatu and southeastern Estonia a few years later.

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As a result of the [[Northern Crusades]] in the beginning of the 13th century, Estonia was conquered by [[Denmark]] and the [[Teutonic Order]], and thus fell under the control of [[Western Christianity]]. However, Russian merchants were later able to set up small Orthodox congregations in several Estonian towns. One such congregation was expelled from the town of Dorpat (Tartu) by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their [[priest]], Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on [[January 8]]).

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After the Estonian Republic was proclaimed in 1918, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], in 1920 recognised the Orthodox Church of Estonia (OCE) as being independent. Archbishop Aleksander Paulus was elected and installed as the head of the Estonian church. In 1923 Abp. Aleksander turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople to receive canonical recognition. The same year the OCE was canonically subordinated to the Patriarchy of Constantinople and gained extensive [[autonomy]].

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Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many [[Old Believers]] fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch [[Patriarch Nikon|Nikon]] of Moscow.

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Before 1941, one fifth of the total Estonian population (who had been mostly Lutheran since the 16th century occupation of Estonia by Sweden) were Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchy of Constantinople. There were 158 parishes in Estonia and 183 clerics in the Estonian church. There was also a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. There was a [[monastery]] in Petseri, two convents in Narva and Kuremäe, a priory in Tallinn and a [[seminary]] in Petseri. The ancient monastery in Petseri (Pechory, which used to belong to the Estonian Republic, now belongs to Russia) was preserved from the mass church destructions that occurred in Soviet Russia.

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In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Imperial Russian Empire, having been conquered by emperor [[Peter the Great]]. A significant number of Estonian peasants were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Diocese of Riga (in Latvia) was established by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and many Estonian Orthodox believers included. In the late 19th century, a wave of [[Russification]] was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by the local Estonian clergy. The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa (Pukhtitsa) convent in Kuremäe in East Estonia were also built around this time.

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In 1917 the first Estonian, Platon (Paul Kulbusch), was ordained Bishop of Riga and Vicar of Tallinn. Two years later, the Bolsheviks murdered Platon and his [[deacon]]. 81 years later, in 2000, Bp. Platon was [[glorification|proclaimed a saint]] by the Churches of Constantinople and Russia, commemorated on [[January 14]].

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After the Estonian Republic was proclaimed in 1918, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], in 1920 recognised the Orthodox Church of Estonia (OCE) as being independent. Archbishop Aleksander Paulus was elected and ordained as the head of the Estonian church. In September 1922 the Council of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church took the decision to address the then infamous Patriarch of Constantinople, [[Meletius IV (Metaxakis) of Constantinople]], with a petition to adopt the Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and to declare it autocephalous. Later on the Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia Alexander wrote that it was done under an intense pressure of the state. On 7 July 1923 in Constantinople Meletios Metaxakis presented the Tomos on the adoption of Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople as a separate church autonomy "Estonian Orthodox Metropolia".

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At the suggestion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Estonia was divided into three dioceses: in Tallinn, Narva and Pechery. Evsevy (Drozdov) became the head of Narva cathedra, John (Bulin), a graduate of St Petersburg Theological Academy, became bishop of Pechery in 1926. He headed the diocese until 1932 and left it because of the disagreements on the properties of Pskov-Pechery Monastery. Bishop John spent several years in Yugoslavia and came back to Estonia in late 30-s. He backed actively the returning of Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of Moscow Patriarchate. On 18 October 1940 bishop John was arrested by NKVD in Pechery, accused of anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda and he was executed on 30 July 1941 in Leningrad.

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Before 1941, one fifth of the total Estonian population (who had been mostly [[Lutheran]] since the [[Reformation]] in the early 1500s when the country was controlled by the Teutonic Order) were Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchy of Constantinople. There were 158 parishes in Estonia and 183 clerics in the Estonian church. There was also a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. There was a [[Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery]] in [[Pechory|Petseri]], two convents&mdash;in Narva and Kuremäe, a priory in Tallinn and a [[seminary]] in Petseri. The ancient monastery in Petseri was preserved from the mass church destructions that occurred in Soviet Russia.

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In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, whose government undertook a general programme of the dissolution of all ecclesiastical independence within its territory. From 1942 to 1944, however, autonomy under Constantinople was temporarily revived. In 1945, a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate dismissed the members of the OCE synod who had remained in Estonia and established a new organisation, the Diocesan Council. Orthodox believers in occupied Estonia were thus subordinated to being a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, whose government undertook a general programme of the dissolution of all ecclesiastical independence within its territory. From 1942 to 1944, however, autonomy under Constantinople was temporarily revived. In 1945, a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate dismissed the members of the OCE synod who had remained in Estonia and established a new organisation, the Diocesan Council. Orthodox believers in occupied Estonia were thus subordinated to being a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Soon after the war broke out, Metropolitan Alexander declared his break-up with Mother-Church and reunion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bishop of Narva Paul remained loyal to Mother-Church. During the occupation Germans didn't hamper Metropolitan Alexander to lead the life of his parishes and bishop Paul to be in charge of the Russian diocese in Narva and many other parishes loyal to Russian Orthodox Church.

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Just before the second Soviet occupation in 1944 and the dissolution of the Estonian synod, the [[primate]] of the church, Metropolitan Aleksander, went into exile along with 21 clergymen and about 8,000 Orthodox believers. The Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile with its synod in Sweden continued its activity according to the canonical statutes, until the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991. Before he died in 1953, Metr. Aleksandr established his community as an [[exarchate]] under Constantinople. Most of the other bishops and clergy who remained behind were deported to Siberia. In 1958, a new synod was established in exile, and the church organized from Sweden.

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Not long before the liberation of Tallinn Metropolitan Alexander left Estonia, the Synod of Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church addressed Alexy (Simansky), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, with a petition to resume the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

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[[Image:Ecum. Patriarch Bartholomew.jpg|thumb|125px|left|Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I of Constantinople]]]]

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Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, divisions within the Orthodox community in Estonia arose between those who wished to remain under Russian authority and those who wished to return to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the dispute often taking place along ethnic lines, many Russians having immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation. Lengthy negotiations between the two patriarchates failed to produce any agreement.

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Just before the second Soviet occupation in 1944 and the dissolution of the Estonian synod, the [[primate]] of the church, Metropolitan Aleksander, went into exile along with 21 clergymen and about 8,000 Orthodox believers. The Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile with its synod in Sweden continued its activity according to the canonical statutes, until the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991. Before he died in 1953, Metr. Aleksander established his community as an [[exarchate]] under Constantinople. Most of the other bishops and clergy who remained behind were deported to Siberia. In 1958, a new synod was established in exile, and the church was organized from Sweden.

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In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered as the legal successor of the autonomous Orthodox Church of Estonia, and on [[February 20]], 1996, Ecumenical Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] renewed the [[tomos]] granted to the OCE in 1923, restoring its canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This action brought immediate protest from Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] of the Moscow Patriarchate, which regarded the Estonian church as being part of its territory, and the Patriarch of Moscow temporarily removed the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch from the [[diptychs]].

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Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, divisions within the Orthodox community in Estonia arose between those who wished to remain under Russian authority and those who wished to return to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the dispute often taking place along ethnic lines, many Russians having immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation. Lengthy negotiations between the two patriarchates failed to produce any agreement.

An agreement was reached in which local congregations could choose which jurisdiction to follow. The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 14% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report of November 2003, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 60 parishes are part of the autonomous church, with 150,000 faithful in 31 parishes, along with the monastic community of Pukhitsa, paying allegiance to Moscow.

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In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered as the autonomous Orthodox Church of Estonia, and on [[February 20]], 1996, Ecumenical Patriarch [[Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] renewed the tomos granted to the OCE in 1923, restoring its canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This action brought immediate protest from the [[Patriarch of Moscow|Patriarch]] [[Patriarch Alexius II|Alexei II]] of the Moscow Patriarchate, which regarded the Estonian church as being part of its territory, and the Patriarch of Moscow temporarily removed the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch from the diptychs.

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In 1999, the church gained a resident hierarch (it had been under the Archbishop of [[Church of Finland|Finland]] as ''[[locum tenens]]''), Metropolitan [[Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn|Stephanos (Charalambides)]], who had formerly been an [[auxiliary bishop]] under the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Metropolitan of France.

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An agreement was reached in which local congregations could choose which jurisdiction to follow. The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 14% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report of November 2003, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 60 parishes are part of the autonomous church, with 250,000 faithful in 31 parishes, along with the monastic community of Pühtitsa, paying traditional allegiance to Moscow.

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In 2013, in response to a joint invitation by the Autonomous Church of Estonia and the President of the Republic of Estonia, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled to Tallinn, Estonia, on September 4, 2013, in order to preside over celebrations for the 90th anniversary since the declaration of the Estonian Church as Autonomous by the Mother Church of Constantinople.

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In 2000, On 6 November 2000 Archbishop Cornelius became Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia.

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==Estonian Orthodoxy today==

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The Orthodox Church of Estonia today consists of 73 parishes, served by 3 bishops, 33 priests and 9 deacons, and a convent.

The Church of Estonia or Orthodox Church of Estonia (Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik) is an autonomous Orthodox church whose primate is confirmed by the Church of Constantinople. Its official name in English is the Orthodox Church of Estonia.

The current primate of the church is His Eminence Stephanos, Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia (elected 1999).

Contents

History

Orthodox missionaries were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to Pskov, in the 10th through 12th centuries. The first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia was in 1030 in Tartu. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians erected a fortress named Tarbatu. In 1030 the Kievan prince, Jaroslav the Wise, raided Tarbatu and built his own fort in this place as well as the congregation in a cathedral dedicated to St. George the Trophy-bearer. Orthodox Christians were later expelled from the city by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their priest, Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on January 8).

Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many Old Believers fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Tsarist Russian Empire, having been conquered by Tsar Peter the Great. A large number of Estonians, particularly rural people, were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Diocese of Riga (in Latvia) was established by the Church of Russia and many Estonian Orthodox believers included. In the late 19th century, a wave of Russification was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by local Estonian clergy. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa Dormition Stavropegic Convent (Kuremäe) in East Estonia were also built around this time.

In 1917 the first Estonian, Platon (Paul Kulbusch), was consecrated Bishop of Riga and Vicar of Tallinn. Two years later, the Bolsheviks murdered Platon and his deacon for political reasons. 81 years later, in 2000, Bp. Platon was proclaimed a saint by the Churches of Constantinople and Russia, commemorated on January 14.

After the Estonian Republic was proclaimed in 1918, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Tikhon, in 1920 recognised the Orthodox Church of Estonia (OCE) as being independent. Archbishop Aleksander Paulus was elected and installed as the head of the Estonian church. In 1923 Abp. Aleksander turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople to receive canonical recognition. The same year the OCE was canonically subordinated to the Patriarchy of Constantinople and gained extensive autonomy.

Before 1941, one fifth of the total Estonian population (who had been mostly Lutheran since the 16th century occupation of Estonia by Sweden) were Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchy of Constantinople. There were 158 parishes in Estonia and 183 clerics in the Estonian church. There was also a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. There was a monastery in Petseri, two convents in Narva and Kuremäe, a priory in Tallinn and a seminary in Petseri. The ancient monastery in Petseri (Pechory, which used to belong to the Estonian Republic, now belongs to Russia) was preserved from the mass church destructions that occurred in Soviet Russia.

In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, whose government undertook a general programme of the dissolution of all ecclesiastical independence within its territory. From 1942 to 1944, however, autonomy under Constantinople was temporarily revived. In 1945, a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate dismissed the members of the OCE synod who had remained in Estonia and established a new organisation, the Diocesan Council. Orthodox believers in occupied Estonia were thus subordinated to being a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church.

Just before the second Soviet occupation in 1944 and the dissolution of the Estonian synod, the primate of the church, Metropolitan Aleksander, went into exile along with 21 clergymen and about 8,000 Orthodox believers. The Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile with its synod in Sweden continued its activity according to the canonical statutes, until the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991. Before he died in 1953, Metr. Aleksandr established his community as an exarchate under Constantinople. Most of the other bishops and clergy who remained behind were deported to Siberia. In 1958, a new synod was established in exile, and the church organized from Sweden.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, divisions within the Orthodox community in Estonia arose between those who wished to remain under Russian authority and those who wished to return to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the dispute often taking place along ethnic lines, many Russians having immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation. Lengthy negotiations between the two patriarchates failed to produce any agreement.

In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered as the legal successor of the autonomous Orthodox Church of Estonia, and on February 20, 1996, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I renewed the tomos granted to the OCE in 1923, restoring its canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This action brought immediate protest from Patriarch Alexei II of the Moscow Patriarchate, which regarded the Estonian church as being part of its territory, and the Patriarch of Moscow temporarily removed the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch from the diptychs.

An agreement was reached in which local congregations could choose which jurisdiction to follow. The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 14% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report of November 2003, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 60 parishes are part of the autonomous church, with 150,000 faithful in 31 parishes, along with the monastic community of Pukhitsa, paying allegiance to Moscow.

In 2013, in response to a joint invitation by the Autonomous Church of Estonia and the President of the Republic of Estonia, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled to Tallinn, Estonia, on September 4, 2013, in order to preside over celebrations for the 90th anniversary since the declaration of the Estonian Church as Autonomous by the Mother Church of Constantinople.

Estonian Orthodoxy today

The Orthodox Church of Estonia today consists of 73 parishes, served by 3 bishops, 33 priests and 9 deacons, and a convent.